AT Pro - Good deal? And what to check?

[andygold]

I'm new to the hobby!!!!! I'm currently using a Harbor Freight, $29 metal detector that my kids bought me this past Christmas. It works, but definitely not a good machine as it has hard to control discrimination, no target display, and only a single tone. So, basically I dig everything that rings and for some reason come up empty handed 3/4 of the time.
I recently joined a local MD club, and one of the members who has 3 or 4 machines is offering me a AT Pro for $250 (he has 2 of them, and wants to sell one and use the funds to buy an AT Max ). I've never used any machine other than the Harbor Freight, and have no idea what to look for or check to make sure the machine is in good shape and functioning properly. Any thoughts on what to look for, typical points of failure to check, or even if there are older AT Pro versions that might be missing features? As you can probably guess, I'm clueless...and any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

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[Professor of Engineering]

That is a good price if its in good operation condition!

 

[mindcrime1988]

That is an excellent price for an AT Pro. Things to look for: check all the buttons to make sure they function, the screen is legible, make sure the volume works OK (has only one setting), the detector is waterproof so take the batteries out of the housing and see if there is any moisture present, check to see if the coil is cracked or damaged in some way, check the coil wire for any damage.

I've had my AT Pro within the first month they released them and have had no major issues with it. The only minor one that comes to mind is the arm cuff. In the beginning they were pretty thin and cracked apart after months of use. Not a big deal because Garrett has one of the best customer service reputations out there. They sent me an updated and thicker arm cuff for free.

If nothing else see if the seller will let you use it for a weekend and that will let you know whether or not you like it and any possible flaws.